Epileptic seizures in man are known to improve during acute periods of fasting or by the chronic ingestion of a ketogenic diet. Both metabolic states produce a systemic ketosis. The principal objectives of our research focus on the delineation of alterations in cerebral metabolism consequent upon systemic ketosis. The laboratory investigations involve the use of the Sprague-Dawley white rat. Studies are being conducted to assess the differential incorporation of (2-14C) D(-) beta-hydroxybutyrate into brain free amino acid pools, brain proteins, and brain lipids during developmnt from birth to adulthood. Additional studies are also being performed to characterize the regional and subcellular distribution of the brain enzymes involved in ketone body metabolism. Cerebral metabolism is also being studied in the adult animal during periods of acute starvation or during the chronic ingestion of a high fat diet seeking to correlate changes in certain biochemical factors with alterations in the electroconvulsive threshold.